University chronicles, ancient Greek tragedy, an educational novel modeled on thick 19th-century novels, a scary bedtime story—any of these definitions would fit the novel by American writer Hanya Yanagihara, but this is one of those cases where the book becomes unique for each reader, because you don't just read it, but experience it in real time. For some, this novel will be a story about friendship, which is sometimes stronger and more enduring than love; for others, it will be a book you're afraid to remember, which hides in a bookcase like a monster under the bed; and for others, 'A Little Life' will be a story about life, about any life that is worthy of being truly told to at least one person.